Brit drivers ‘risking life by using Twitter, Facebook while driving’

London, Mar 20 (ANI): The UK police are concerned about the increasing numbers of motorists using Facebook and Twitter behind the wheel, and have warned of potential ‘catastrophic consequences’.

Devon and Cornwall police said they were pulling over more and more people using mobile phones with Internet capability while driving, reports the Telegraph.

They urged drivers to show greater care, saying that rules banning the use of mobile phones while driving had now been in place for a ‘long, long time’.

“With the new mobile phones, it is becoming more commonplace for people to use them to access social media than for texting while driving,” inspector Richard Price from the force’s roads policing unit told the BBC.

“The availability of information is sometimes too tempting to drivers and often they will be picking up the phone and updating their (Facebook) site. It really is unacceptable,” he added.

The force has launched ‘Operation Vortex’ to clamp down on ‘complacent and arrogant behaviour by drivers.

It said research by the RAC had shown one in five motorists in the south-west had admitted to checking social media alerts whilst driving, making this a particular focus of the campaign alongside speeding, drink-driving and failing to wear a seatbelt.

‘A minority of drivers has a complacent and sometimes arrogant attitude to driving. This can lead to careless and even dangerous driving where mobile devices are accessed, excessive speed is used or where a driver intimidates another through their manner of driving, all of which I know can have catastrophic consequences,” said Price.

“Our intention is to make everyone think constantly about their driving behaviour, not just when a marked police car, static camera or speed detection van is in sight. Those who drive responsibly and do not flout the law have nothing to fear,” he added. (ANI)